Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
“Devon, you already did so much for the kids last season. I don’t expect you to keep doing it every year. You need to get on with your life.”
“From the moment I handed Eric his first baseball, that’s all he wanted to do. He would throw that plastic ball until I got tired of throwing it back. It isn’t possible for Eric to play anymore, but I think he would like it if I spent the money I would have given him to provide the same opportunity to another kid.”
Joel nodded. “I think so, too.”
Devon left the office and made it back to the waiting cab.
“I was about to leave.” After giving him a harassed look, the driver turned around and put the car in motion.
“Saying goodbye was harder than I thought it would be,” Devon explained, taking off his gloves.
The rest of the ride to the airport was accomplished in silence.
Handing over the rest of his cash to the driver and taking his duffle bag, Devon got out. He passed a trash can at the entrance and threw the gloves away before walking through the electric doors. He had barely enough time to make it through security and reach the gate before his plane called for final boarding.
Getting in line, he noticed two women in front of him turn around and do a double-take before turning forward again. When two ticket agents split the line apart to make it move faster, Devon maneuvered himself around the women as they searched for their tickets. Wistful expressions followed him.
Finding his seat with the help of a flight attendant who had left greeting other passengers to latch on to his heels, he put his bag in the overhead before sitting down.
“Can I be of any other assistance to you?” Suggestively leaning forward, she moved his hands away to latch his seat belt for him.
Uninterested in the overture, Devon turned his head to stare out at the dark sky. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
Not moving his eyes away from the window as the other passengers boarded, he felt someone take the seat next to him.
“Hi!”
A breathy voice had his head turning. It was one of the women who had been in front of him in line.
“So, you’re going to Chicago, too?”
“Unless I got on the wrong plane,” he answered wryly.
Red flooded her cheeks but, undeterred, she kept trying to make conversation. “Were you visiting Carsen City?” Devon felt her eyes travel down from his face to his chest.
“No, I lived there,” he replied shortly.
“That must have been cool.” She sent a glance toward her friend, then looked back at him. “Castlena and I are on vacation.” She nodded her head toward the woman sitting across the aisle from them. “Thought we would visit Chicago before heading to the Great Lakes.”
“Great minds think alike.”
“How long are you staying in Chicago?”
“A couple of days,” Devon answered.
She let the tip of her tongue wet her bottom lip. “We should hook up for dinner tomorrow night. Then see what trouble we can get up to.”
“Maybe. We’ll see,” he answered noncommittedly.
The women were gorgeous, but he was not in the mood to provide the entertainment they wanted.
“I’ll give you my cell number before we get off the plane,” she said as if their hooking up was a done deal. “I am Amanda, by the way. What’s your name?”
His eyes shifted away from the moon he had been staring at and toward her. Reading the sexual interest left him just as cold and alone as the satellite he had been looking at.
Forcing a smile to his lips, he stopped thinking of leaving his mother, knowing he would never step foot in Carsen City again, that he wouldn’t be there to visit Eric’s and Riley’s graves every Saturday, and he would have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life for the crime he had just committed. Joel had told him to move on with his life, and he was going to do that from now on.
“Moon. Everyone calls me Moon.”
CHAPTER ONE
Larissa watched the room full of women talking and laughing as if they were the best of friends and hadn’t been trying to tear each other’s hair out just an hour ago. Standing off to the side at the back of The Last Riders’ clubhouse, she kept the length of the room between her and the two groups of women in case tensions rose again. If they started fighting again, she was out, and her two sisters could find their own way home.
Her younger sister must have sensed what she was thinking because she started making her way toward her. “I think the worst is over.”
Larissa eyed the room of women doubtfully. “Then it’s the perfect opportunity for us to be leaving. I’m ready to go, Priscilla. You can go get Lana and say our goodbyes. I’ll be warming up the car.” She started for the coatrack, where she had hung up her coat, when Priscilla caught her by the arm.